Changes
by RolyRolyPoly
Summary: After the adephagos is defeated, the group splits up between Zaphias and Dahngrest. Estelle is the new empress, and Brave Vesperia quickly rises to be one of the master guilds. Three years pass by, and they are finally reunited. Yurita.


Hey guys! So this will be my second Tales of Vesperia fanfic. I rather enjoyed writing my last Yurita fic, so I'm back with some more! This, unlike my last fic, however, will not be a oneshot, so it feels quite different. Hope you like it!

* * *

A young mage sat cross-legged amidst towers of books around her in a room one could definitely mistake for a very messy library. The one window in the room almost always had the shutters closed. The room was dimly lit by candles, casting strange shadows all around the room. Some would have called this room a very depressing place to work, yet the young mage would have it no other way. Recently, she had begun writing her own books filled with fresh research.

"Lady Rita, will you be coming outside today?"  
One of the servants asked behind the heavy wooden door to Rita's room. She could never get used to having them around all the time.  
"Hm? Oh, yeah, of course. I'll be out in a minute."  
She had scheduled for clothes to be fitted for her today. Since she was very particular about what she wanted to wear, she sometimes had to personally oversee the making of the intricate designs she so loved. She was usually happy with the clothes she had, and was rarely disturbed during her research due to her short temper, but this occasion was different.

Every bone in her body seemed to crack as she slowly got to her feet. With a nice, long stretch, she walked over to the window, opening the shutters for the first time in months. The soft rays cut through the darkness, making her squint. As her eyes adjusted, she could see the clear blue skies and the bustling homes of the citizens of Zaphias below. The past week had been a busy one for the capital. Many preparations had to be made.

'Well, I better get going.'  
She thought as she turned the doorknob. Looking over her shoulder, she made sure that she had bookmarked her chapter properly. She was dying to finish, yet she knew she'd never be able to finish both her research and the day's other engagements. Research was always first in her books, but again, this occasion was different.  
'It's going to be Estelle's wedding, after all.'

* * *

Three years had passed since the Adephagos, and since then, the city of Zaphias had seen some very difficult times. After being overrun with monsters, the lack of blastia had made it extremely difficult to take and hold the city, while having it be an adequate place for citizens to live. After long hard battles against the monsters, in the last year, the city of Zaphias once again belonged to the empire. The city had lost much of it's old segregations of rich and poor; wealth didn't mean much during these times. The people who formerly lived in the lower quarter were moved up to live in the former noble's quarter, which lost most of it's glamour. The lower quarter itself was used as the first line of defence. Many other cities under the empire's influence also shared similar fates.

The old council was all but gone after the crisis. They fled by themselves with all of their possessions with much of the nobility. They did not want to return to Zaphias because of the "undignified commoners" now sharing their living quarters. They still naively thought that enough money could solve any problem. The citizenry much favoured the knights, led by commandant Flynn, who protected them rather than act in the interest of self-preservation, as most of the council did. The rest of the capital did not have the time or energy to search for these missing people, and it was hard to imagine many of them were still alive without any protection. They certainly would not have gone running to the 'lowly' guilds for help.

Ioder was first thought to become the new emperor, after this new surge of power for the knights, who supported him. Before any decision could be made, however he abdicated the throne. Estelle was now the empress of the kingdom, with Ioder as the new head of the council. New laws were immediately laid down in order to protect the people from not only monsters, but their own magistrates. Commandant Flynn had greatly assisted Empress Estelle in creating and enforcing these laws.

The worst seemed to be over for the empire, now that there were great breakthroughs in magic without blastia made by Rita. It was difficult to make large, permanent barriers around whole cities, but the magic developed made it easier to deal with monsters. Powerful spells were invented using the newly discovered mana, which were far more effective and efficient than blastia and aer. Enchanted weapons could be made from this new energy, and things were definitely looking up.

The guilds on the other hand, did not experience such a drastic change, since most of the people living in Dahngrest were warriors. There was always the odd skirmish that would get slightly out of hand, but no major change had taken place within the lifestyles of the guilds.

One large thing that had changed during this time, however, was the administration and the leadership. Three of the five master guilds had lost their leaders, and with the exception of Altosk, the remnants eventually disbanded. Coming out of his grandfather's shadow, Harry had really begun to show his ability to lead through his mistakes, and Raven's surprisingly helpful guidance. Altosk was very much as powerful as it was during the late Whitehorse's reign. The hunting blades grew to be a master guild due to the demand for monster slayers.

Brave Vesperia had grown immensely during this time as well. Though they now rivaled Altosk in members and strength, they respected Harry's place as the new Don.

Young Karol had remained the leader of Brave Vesperia. Although his youthful heart was far from hardened, Karol's strength had grown considerably. He lived by Don Whitehorse's last words, and knew he never needed to fear anything as long as the guild and his friends was there. The guild laws were very popular, and the members always thrived to do what they could to help with the interest of the guild in mind, which is what allowed it to become so powerful.

The union was again comprised of five master guilds: Altosk, The Hunting Blades, The Soul Smiths, Fortune's Market, and Brave Vesperia.

Imaginably, the relationship between the empire and the guilds had become quite good over the years thanks the leaders on both sides. There were no clashes between the two sides, and the city of Aurnion became a rally point for negotiations and even united fronts against the monsters.

* * *

Rita examined her new clothes in the mirror. It was customary in the kingdom for women to wear long, white, flowing dresses for formal wedding ceremonies. She thought back to the only other time she wore a dress. It was with Yuri and the others at Nam Cobanda Isle on stage, when they nearly blew the place up wearing those ridiculous costumes. A slight smile formed on her lips. It was such a stupid play.

She could only think fondly of the times that had passed. After their journey was over, she seemed to naturally go back to her reclusive ways; though now, Estelle visited her often, reading or chatting the hours away together in her semi-dark room. Though the research still fascinated her at times, she couldn't help but feel that there was something missing in her life. Something she took for granted in the past...

After settling in the castle, she soon began to realize that she missed the days when she traveled with her friends. There was no explicable reason why. She recalled that the travels were filled with annoyances such as the brat or the perverted old man, yet nothing felt the same after that journey had ended. She had actually felt sad saying goodbye.

Her slight smile had faded completely now.

When Rita had first moved into Zaphias, she was glad Estelle insisted that she live inside the castle. Her newly found feelings of loneliness were kept at bay only thanks to Estelle. After her wedding, however, Rita knew Estelle could no longer visit her as often. It was a wonder how she could spare the time to visit her even up until now. Rita began to dread the thought of being alone again.

'Stupid brat... Stupid old man... Stupid dragon freak... Stupid Yuri...'

She thought.  
'Would it kill them to visit Zaphias once in a while?'

She had not seen any one of them even once in the last tree years. Sighing, she leaned lightly against a windowsill, looking out into the sea of rooftops again. It was an unfair question, really. She knew that as leaders of a guild, they had a lot to deal with too. It wasn't like Zaphias was nearby Dahngrest; visiting her would probably have been a fairly low priority.

In the distance, she could see something in the sky approaching the city. It was instantly recognizable. Brave Vesperia had arrived.

The servants, as always, escorted Rita to Estelle's room. With a knock, Rita opened the door and entered.  
"Hey Estelle."  
She said. Estelle insisted that Rita call her by name only. Estelle looked up from her book on her chair.  
"Hey, wow Rita! Those clothes really suit you! You look great!"  
She said with a smile. Blushing, Rita realized that she was still wearing the clothes for the ceremony.  
"Don't be silly, Estelle! You're the one that's going to be wearing much prettier clothes than this. Anyways, Yuri and the others are here."  
Estelle's face brightened with another smile.  
"Really? Oh, we have to go out and meet them! It's been such a long time! Let's go together, Rita! I'm sure Flynn will already be down there."  
"H-hold on, let me get changed first."  
Rita said, as Estelle laughed.  
"Haha, okay, let's go back to your room first then."

* * *

"Okay, Ba'ul, you take care now. Thanks again."  
Judith said to her companion as it took off with a great gust of wind. They had landed near the main gates that lead into the former lower quarter.  
"Man, this is going to be just like a reunion! Brings a tear to this old man's eyes."  
Raven said with his usual, satirical tone.

"Don't start bawling now, old man, we haven't even reached the ceremony yet."  
Yuri said, adjusting his sword strap.

"Ahh, yes. The happiness of youth. Two young lovers getting married. I wonder if that kind of happiness could come to this old man some day."  
"I'm sure it will some day, Raven. Don't give up."  
Judith said with a smile, clasping her hands behind her as she usually did when speaking to Raven.  
"Oh, thank you Judith, darlin'. You think you could be the one grant this old man his wish?"  
"Oh, I'm sure you can find much better women. You'll only get burned by me."  
"Gosh, how do you always reject me with that sweet smile of yours?"

"Okay, okay, let's get going guys. We don't want to keep them waiting."  
Yuri said, beginning to walk towards the lower quarter with Karol beside him. His height almost matched Yuri's now.  
"Hey Yuri, you think Estelle or Rita's changed much?"  
He asked,  
"Not really."  
Yuri replied.  
"It's only been three years, I doubt much can change."  
"Well hey now, that's not true."  
Raven interrupted.  
"You might not realize it, but both of you have changed a lot since we started living in Dahngrest, ya know. Young people tend to change fast."

"Huh? Like what? I don't feel any different from before."  
Karol said.  
"Well, for one thing, you've grown much taller, but you've really grown inside too."  
Judith replied with a smile.  
"It takes a real adult to be the leader of one of the master guilds, you know."  
Karol laughed, scratching his head.  
"Aww, come on, Judith! Don't embarrass me like that."  
"Yeah, Karol. Now that I think about it, you are a lot different from when we first started Brave Vesperia."  
Yuri said.

"You've changed a lot as well, Yuri."  
Judith continued.  
"Huh? Really?"

"You don't seem to have trouble expressing your feelings anymore."

"Well, I guess you don't exactly notice these things if they happen gradually..."  
Yuri replied. They were in front of the gates now, waiting for it to finish opening.  
"Well, Estelle is the new ruler of the empire, and Rita's going down as one of the greatest researcher mages in history. You'd think those kind of things would change people."  
Raven said.

"Don't worry, they are who they are. Even if they look different, I'm sure they'll be exactly as we remember them."  
Yuri said, and with a loud click, the gates were fully open. They passed through to see a knight with blond hair walking down the steps into the lower quarter, where they were.

"Well, well, Yuri. You decided to show up."  
The knight said with a smile.  
"You kidding me? I wouldn't miss this for the world."  
Yuri responded, removing his black fedora to see his old friend.  
"You look tense. Is even the great Commandant Flynn nervous at the thought of his own wedding?"  
Yuri asked with a playful smirk.

* * *

Well, that's the first chapter. I know it might have been slightly boring, but that can't really be helped since there were so many loose ends at the end of the game. Please leave a review with your thoughts, and hopefully, this fic will turn out nicely!


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